


What the Lady Wants

by haldoor



Series: Parental Involvement [13]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-10 04:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haldoor/pseuds/haldoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Warnings/Spoilers:</b> None for the show<br/><b>Disclaimer:</b> No ownership; no profit<br/><b>Beta:</b> Ran it past <span class="ljuser i-ljuser"></span><a href="http://kaige68.livejournal.com/profile"><img class="i-ljuser-userhead"/></a><a class="i-ljuser-username" href="http://kaige68.livejournal.com/"></a><b>kaige68</b> but all mistakes are my own<br/><b>Summary:</b> Steve takes Catherine home to meet his father<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	What the Lady Wants

**Author's Note:**

> This is Part 13 of the **Parental Involvement** series about Steve coming to terms with the fact he never told his father about his sexuality. There is some comparing of his uneasy relationship with his father to his current relationship with his mother after her twenty-year absence. This part takes place a few weeks after Part 11, **Misconstrued** , time-wise

"I like her; she seems good for you."

Steve smiled at his father, then turned to watch Catherine's retreating figure behind them. They were on the beach behind the house. Steve and Catherine had been swimming, and Jack met them at the edge of the sand as Cath excused herself to have a shower.

Steve stayed on the lawn to talk with his father, taking the beer he was handed and wiping his towel across his damp face. Placing the towel on one of the chairs, he sat down after his father had claimed the other seat, shifting to get comfortable before he answered. "Cath is… amazing. She's really helped me a lot lately."

"How so?" Jack sipped from his beer, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

Guilt made Steve look away. He knew he was taking the easy way out, but his father seemed happier – more relaxed about Steve being here this time – and it couldn't be coincidence that Steve had brought a woman home with him.

"I've been through some… stuff… that she seemed to get." He shrugged, managing a quick look in his father's direction before he gulped from the beer. "Maybe it's because she's in the Navy too. She understands how it is without me having to explain it all, you know?"

"Makes sense," Jack offered. He smiled, pride shining in his eyes. "She's very pretty too. You make a nice couple."

It was hard to believe Jack would be so pleased if Steve had brought a male friend home again. Steve smiled too, hoping it looked honest, despite how much his heart was whispering the word 'liar' to his head.

"Thanks," was the only word he could get out.

They drank quietly for a while, watching the white tops sparkle in the soft glow of late afternoon sun. Steve's mind was whirling. There was no reason he and Catherine couldn't just let everyone assume whatever they wanted; it wasn't like Steve was seeing anyone else, and Cath maintained she was too busy for a full-time boyfriend anyway…

A few minutes later, Cath reappeared, looking as lovely as she always did, in a pretty blue dress and low heeled sandals. "Hey, handsome. Are you going to shower? You promised me dinner, I believe." She kissed Steve lightly on the forehead and smiled over his head at his father. "You'll come with us, won't you, sir?"

Jack started to protest, but Cath gave Steve a meaningful look as he moved his feet off the lounger so she could sit, and he knew his father didn't stand a chance. What Cath wanted, she wasn't going to give up on easily.

Steve held up a hand in a helpless gesture and offered his father a sorry smile. "You'd better say yes, or she'll put you in a headlock until you agree."

Jack blinked and gave Cath a nervous look, huffing a laugh. "What the lady wants, the lady gets. As long as you're sure I won't be interrupting anything?"

"Of course not," Catherine told him, "I know Steve barely gets to see you, so you have a lot to catch up on. Also, this way, I'm escorted by the two most handsome men on this island to the restaurant of my choosing, and if one of you drinks too much, I can ignore him in favor of the other." She winked at Steve and offered one of her most disarming smiles to his father.

"Then I can't possibly refuse," Jack said, crinkling his eyes in Steve's direction.

Despite his misgivings, Steve was beginning to think it might be okay like this.

~//~


End file.
